Chapter 1043: Attempted Persuasion
The king of keys replied, "Since the king of chaos has made this suggestion, let's discuss it in earnest."
A suggestion from Zhang Lie was completely different than one from the king of chaos. The king of chaos was a superior king, and the strongest among the superior kings. He boasted a position of extreme importance in the meeting, and any suggestion of his would be treated seriously by the others.
The solar king replied, "Since this is the king of chaos' suggestion, let's discuss the fighters' rewards."
The ice queen proposed, "How about we distribute rewards to the fighters who have returned?"
Zhang Lie hastily brought up, "What about those who died in war?"
The solar king shrugged. "What value do the dead have?"
Zhang Lie replied, "This isn't an issue of value. They died on the battlefield and gave their very lives to defend against the death spirits. Shouldn't we compensate them for their losses?"
The solar king looked at him as though he were a fool. "Even if we wanted to, would they be able to claim it?"
"Surely they have families."
The ice queen interrupted, "That's quite enough. All forces will suffer losses against the death spirits; it's only inevitable. Look at the solar king—his entire force was annihilated! And he hasn't brought anything up."
The solar king gritted his teeth, the ten suns behind his back glowing with light. Even now, the ice queen was prodding at his weak spots.
A human's face appeared amidst the black fog. "Let's leave aside the living for now. Surely you don't expect us to collect the corpses of the dead?"
The solar king snorted. "There are corpses everywhere, and the battlefield itself has been obliterated. How much manpower would it take to claim the dead?"
The ice queen was indifferent. "They're just dead ants. We'll set up an obelisk somewhere in the three thousand worlds and record the names and worlds of the dead. It's cheap and effective."
The solar king snapped his fingers. "That's more like it!"
"Let's do that, then," the other superior kings agreed.
The king of keys nodded. "Since the majority of the superior kings approve, we'll establish an obelisk for the dead. The living fighters shall be rewarded by each king individually.
The dead's names and worlds will be reported and inscribed on the obelisk."
Zhang Lie sighed. He had tried his best. In the end, he wasn't a superior king, and he didn't have the authority to oppose the superior kings' decisions. Neither did Li Zongming have much authority.
The king of chaos, in the guise of Nightdemon, had promised to bring the topic up while they were in the world of black rain, but he hadn't guaranteed any measure of success.
Indeed, the king of chaos had already provided more than sufficient help. If he hadn't spoken, Zhang Lie would have had no recourse. He held no authority among the kings—it was as though he was a stone statue with a heartbeat. Without the king of chaos making the same suggestion, no matter how good of a speaker he was, the other superior kings would have ignored him.
And he certainly couldn't ask the king of chaos to accomplish everything for him; there was no reason for the king of chaos to grant him that favor.
The solar king turned around. "However, I heard that many fighters from the Zongming world returned safe and sound—eighty percent of them, in fact. Will the Zongming king be able to produce so many rewards?"
The ice queen added, "If you can't afford to do so, don't strain yourself. Give me the crystal you bear, and I'd be happy to cover the additional costs."
The solar king and ice queen smirked at each other. Part of the reason they had pushed to reward only the surviving fighters was that they didn't have too many of those to begin with, and they could save a great deal of their own resources. Further, they wanted to make life difficult for Li Zongming, whom they knew had many fighters remaining.
Li Zongming smiled. "There's no need to worry, solar king, ice queen. I'm able to afford these rewards myself. The fighters worked hard to defend the three thousand worlds, and they deserve something for themselves."
The king of keys continued, "The final matter for discussion in this meeting is the appearance of two new superior worlds."
Aha.?Li Zongming and Zhang Lie both had serious expressions on their faces.
The solar king asked, "What do you plan to do with the two superior worlds that have appeared within your jurisdiction?"
Li Zongming and Zhang Lie had planned out an answer beforehand.
Li Zongming shrugged. "How else? I'll simply do what you seniors have done to date."
The solar king smirked. "As far as I know, you haven't made any move against them."
The ice queen's smile was tinged with frost. "As far as I know, you never made a move even when the two superior worlds evolved. I can't help but wonder if they have any relationship to your world."
Under ordinary circumstances, a superior world was weakest during the process of evolution, just as the Zongming world was.
An evolving world didn't receive the protection of a king of the realm, who was still getting used to his powers and couldn't fight at a higher level.
Not all evolving superior worlds were as lucky as the Zongming world, to have someone like Zhang Lie stand guard.
An ordinary superior world had, at most, fighters on the level of a king of a large world.
It was ridiculously rare that a world that had just evolved into a superior one had a combatant like Zhang Lie, who was as strong as a superior king in his own right.
Li Zongming nodded. "I'm attempting to persuade the two worlds to surrender."
"To surrender?"
Li Zongming replied seriously, "As you know, the Zongming world has just recently advanced to a superior world, and it can't compare to any of your worlds in terms of strength or resources. For me to take down two superior worlds at once is a tall order, and I don't intend to do so by force."
The superior kings in attendance were all flabbergasted.
The solar king dug at his ear. "Surely I haven't heard you incorrectly?"
Li Zongming replied, "Of course not. I'm attempting to persuade the two worlds to surrender. I intend to have them merge with the Zongming world, allowing it to increase in size and providing me with two subordinates at the level of superior kings."
The ice queen asked again, "Are you serious?"
Li Zongming nodded. "I am quite serious."
"Ahaha, haha!" Except for the king of chaos, all the superior kings began to laugh.
The solar king smiled as the ten suns behind him glowed with radiance. ?"Haha, to persuade superior worlds to surrender... How funny!"
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